Lauriol Plaza

The first time I ate at Lauriol plaza, on a Sunday afternoon, I was pleasantly surprised. No wonder the place is always jammed, I thought. Much better than Rio Grande Cafe or Cactus Cantina. The next time, a month later, it was like I was in a different restaurant. The same dishes were terrible. So, I guess the best I can say is “wildly inconsistent”. The long menu offers the standard Tex-Mex dishes. There’s nothing creative or original here. And there’s lots of better food nearby, without the ridiculously long wait.

The drinks have got to be outstanding; that is the only conclusion I can come to. If one arrives at one’s table with a comfortable, expansive buzz, then one is not likely to pay particular notice one’s food, and merely wander away full and content.

However, I did not have any drinks, (even though the first question I was asked was ’Would you like a drink from our bar?’) and thus I was actually in a state to critique my food. The spinach quesadillas were made from baby spinach (a plus) but were soggy and unbalanced. The beef stew was bland, and while the vegetables were mostly fresh they were -sad to say- undercooked and badly prepared. (Nothing like a full uncooked brocolli shrub) The black beans and guac were literally inedible. The salsa was promising but underspiced, and the chips were too thin and greasy. You’re paying for the tablecloths and crested sweaters the staff wears, as far as I can tell. I have no intention of ever going back- I’d rather go to Don Pablos. This wouldn’t be tolerated in California.

This place is enormous by DC stanrdards, and every night, it’s packed. They don’t take reservations, so why do literally hundreds of people stop by and wait around for an hour or more?

I finally visited at a time when I thought it would be less crowded, at 2 pm during a snowstorm. There were still dozens of customers. I’m mystified as to why.

Things are initially promising, with very flavorful salsa (although it’s not spicy enough) and fresh chips; unfortunately, this salsa is the best thing they serve. The guacamole is unfresh, and the pico de gallo made with pale tomatoes and almost no cilantro. The overcooked beef fajitas are prepared in what would be a tasty marinade if they had left it in for half as long, but instead is just overpowering. Black beans are inedibly salty.

Essentially, what you have here is the Adams Morgan version of Don Pablo’s. Not recommended. For a good dinner in the neighborhood, try Wazuri across the street; for a good Spanish dinner, try Jaleo.